Everton striker vows to repay faith by continuing upturn in form against Leeds United
Leeds United will visit the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time when they face Everton on Monday night.
Everton star Thierno Barry has set his sights on Leeds United and vowed to score more goals to repay the faith shown in him by Toffees supporters during a challenging introduction to life in the Premier League.
The former France Under-21 international joined the Toffees in a reported £26million deal during the summer as David Moyes looked to boost his forward line ahead of the first full season of his second managerial reign with the club. Hopes were high for Barry as he embarked on his career on Merseyside - but the striker failed to find the net in his first 14 league appearances and also drew blanks in Carabao Cup ties against Mansfield Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
A first goal finally arrived in a 3-0 home win against Nottingham Forest early last month and that has sparked an upturn in form and raised hopes that Barry could deliver on his unquestionable promise during his time working under Moyes. After finding the net in the reverse fixture against Sean Dyche’s side in the final game of December, Barry scored in a 4-2 defeat at Brentford days later before hitting the only goal in Sunday’s impressive victory at in-form Aston Villa.
The latter of those strikes came just a week after the striker had missed a penalty in a shoot-out defeat in an FA Cup third round tie against Sunderland - and he has revealed just how the support he received from the travelling faithful at Villa Park has inspired him as he tries to continue his upturn in form when Leeds visit the Hill Dickinson Stadium next Monday night.
Speaking after grabbing the winning goal in the weekend win against Villa, Barry told Everton’s official club website: "I think [the fans singing my name] is a good thing for me. The last game I didn't score my penalty and I felt very bad for this because it's only the second-ever penalty I've missed in my career. When I came today, in my head, I knew I had to play well for the fans. I played for them, and I'm very happy to score, which helps put the previous game in the past. I don't know about the statistics but always when I go to the pitch, I'm wanting to score goals."
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